Five teams shortlisted for Airbus’ Fly Your Ideas challenge final

Airbus has selected the five finalist student teams competing in the third edition of the Fly Your Ideas challenge. The teams making the final are from Australia, Brazil, India, Italy and Malaysia. The students will present their ideas to a jury of Airbus and industry experts at Airbus’ headquarters in Toulouse on 12th June 2013. The winning team will receive a prize of €30,000 and the runners up €15,000.

The winners will be announced at an exclusive ceremony at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris on 14th June 2013. UNESCO has given its patronage to the global competition which challenges students worldwide to develop innovative ideas for a more sustainable aviation industry for the future.

This year’s challenge inspired over 6,000 students from 82 countries to register with 618 teams submitting a proposal. The proposals had to cover one of six themes identified by Airbus as key 21st century challenges for a greener aviation industry.

Charles Champion, Airbus’ Executive Vice President, Engineering and Fly Your Ideas Patron, said “the entries were assessed by experienced Airbus engineers who were extremely impressed by the quality of work and innovation. These talented students from around the world represent the future of our industry and I am looking forward to welcoming them to Toulouse for the final round.”

The five finalists are:

Australia - Team CLiMA, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, for the development of aircraft fuelled by a blend of sustainably produced liquefied biomethane and liquefied natural gas (Bio-LNG).

Brazil - Team Levar, University of São Paulo, for a luggage loading and unloading system for airplane cargo compartments to reduce the workload of airport baggage handlers with an air cushion solution inspired by air hockey tables.

Italy - Team Flybrid, Technical University of Milan, for an electric/turboprop combination for hybrid propulsion in regional aircraft. This system uses batteries pre-charged on ground and not in-flight.

Malaysia - Team Embarker, Universiti Putra Malaysia, for a self-sustaining aircraft cabin concept in which the excess body heat from seated passengers is used as an alternative source of energy to power small electronics in the cabin.

Throughout the competition, Airbus Mentors and Experts have worked with the teams to provide guidance and support with their projects in addition to a member of staff from their university. The teams are multinational and multicultural and the students are studying a wide range of subjects from mechanical and aerospace engineering to business and design.

In addition to the main challenge, there is a competition for the best Fly Your Ideas video which the public can vote for online at www.airbus-fyi.com. The shortlisted video teams are from Australia, China, Germany, Kenya and Spain.

For further details on the competition and the finalists, and to vote for the best video please visit: www.airbus-fyi.com

Notes to Editors

About Fly Your Ideas - Fly Your Ideas is a biennial international student competition held by Airbus, the world's leading aircraft manufacturer. The first competition was launched in October 2008 challenging teams of students from around the world to develop innovative ideas to shape the future of aviation. Since its launch, the challenge has been a vast success, drawing together thousands of students from around the world. The unique nature of Fly Your Ideas is that it gives students the chance to develop teamwork, enhance their creativity and innovation skills, and improve project management as well as presentation skills. Students have close interaction with Airbus staff benefitting from Airbus expertise and insight into the global aviation industry which currently supports 33 million jobs worldwide and is a substantial contributor to global commerce.

About the 2013 challenge: Airbus has placed the focus on innovation, and asked students to propose an idea addressing six themes: Energy, Efficiency, Affordable Growth, Traffic Growth, Passenger Experience, and Community Friendliness. The themes have been identified by Airbus as key 21st century challenges for a greener aviation industry.

About the Jury: Charles Champion, Airbus EVP Engineering, will chair a Jury of six Airbus and Industry experts. The members will be announced at the end of May 2013.

The Competition Calendar:

Round One - September 2012 to December 2012 (One page proposal)

Round Two - January 2013 to April 2013 (102 teams chosen to deliver a 5,000 word report and a short video)

Round Three - May 2013 to June 2013 (5 teams chosen to present to a Jury of Airbus and industry experts and 5 teams chosen for online video competition)

Team Members: 5 students all male; 2 Spanish, 3 Italians; studying Engineering – Aeronautical in Italy (the home university of one of the Spanish student is the University of Seville, Spain); 3 Masters Level, 2 Bachelors Level